[Editor's Note: This story has been changed. The officer's age was incorrectly reported in the original version of this article.]

A rookie Seattle police officer died early Sunday when his patrol car was broadsided by a sport utility vehicle at a Central District intersection.

The impact instantly killed the 26-year-old officer, a fresh graduate of the police academy who had been working patrol just two months. He was engaged to be married.

Seattle police Monday identified the officer killed as Joselito Barber. In a statement released just after 9:30 a.m., the department said Barber was described as caring and conscientious.

"It sounded like this was a dream of his to join this department," police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said yesterday.

The driver of the SUV, a 31-year-old woman, was under guard at Harborview Medical Center, where she was being treated for injuries that included a broken leg and ankle, police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said.

Detectives were investigating whether she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he said. She was expected to be booked today into the King County Jail.

Police also were investigating the possibility a second person was in the SUV when it hit the patrol car, Whitcomb said.

The crash happened just after 4 a.m. as the officer was crossing Yesler Way while northbound on 23rd Avenue. The woman's black GMC Yukon ran a red light and rammed into the officer from the west, Whitcomb said.

The officer was on routine patrol and not headed to an emergency. The Yukon may have been traveling as fast as 80 mph, Whitcomb said. Two police officers responding to a call a block away saw the Yukon barrel past them, he said.

The collision knocked the patrol car and the 3-ton Yukon to the northeast curb. The car plowed over a streetlight and barely missed a covered bus stop. The Yukon came to a rest perpendicular to the car.

The accident happened across the street from a Seattle Fire Department station, but even with medics close by, they were unable to revive the officer, Whitcomb said.

Firefighters had to use power tools to cut off the crumpled patrol car's door.

"This is a tragedy that could have happened to anybody. It's our misfortune that it's a friend and colleague," he said.

The suspect was still in her vehicle when police arrived. Officers initially thought she was a passenger and that the driver had run away. They called in K-9 units and at first reported to news media that they were searching for a hit-and-run driver, Whitcomb said.

By midmorning, police were instead calling the injured woman the suspect, although they declined to say what evidence changed their minds.

Mayor Greg Nickels said city flags would be flown at half-staff to honor the officer "and all men and women of the police and fire departments who take risks every day in our name. We should be thankful every day for their service."

Lt. Bill Edwards, though not on duty, stopped by the site of the accident late Sunday morning. The mood at the East Precinct was somber, he said.

Other East Precinct officers were just getting to know the rookie cop.

"He's been on his own not for very long," Edwards said.

The young officer had graduated from the six-month academy less than a year ago, had completed the three-week specialty course in Seattle police procedures, and had just finished three months working with field training officers.

Whitcomb said the young officer had been on his own for two months.

Kerlikowske said he met with some of the officer's family members Sunday and that he remembered the large "cheering section" for the officer at the police academy graduation ceremony.

He said the officer was engaged and lived in Seattle. He formerly worked at a Home Depot and was recruited by another officer who did off-duty work for the store.

Kerlikowske said he was told that when the rookie officer was off-duty, he would frequently call his aunt to tell her about his experiences and the things he'd seen on patrol.

The officer's mother was notified at her home in Napa County, Calif., by authorities there. His father was informed while on vacation in Hawaii, Kerlikowske said.

The last on-duty death of a Seattle police officer happened on March 16, 2005, when Harbor Patrol officer Jackson Lone accidentally fell near the water's edge and apparently struck his head on some rocks. The 18-year veteran had scrambled ashore to tie off a tugboat when he apparently slipped and suffered his fatal fall.

"Two officers in two years: It's just hard on this department," Kerlikowske said. "We're still a little bit stunned and we'll see how we do the rest of the week."

Police shut down the intersection for about 8 hours, ringing yellow crime-scene tape around light poles and street signs to form a one-block radius in all directions.

Several residents whose homes were within the perimeter were prohibited from leaving in their cars.

Leonora Clarke, who lives three houses north of the intersection, said she awoke to hear "a big loud boom like a Dumpster being tipped over, and then some people shouting."

She said she first looked out her rear windows to check on the Dumpster and then peered out front to see police cars.

Clarke, who has lived on 23rd Avenue for two years, said several other cars have crashed at the intersection, which sits at the crest of a small hill.

"The sound of that crunch is not unusual here," she said.

Edwards said the crash could have happened to anybody.

"If it weren't him, it could have been somebody from the neighborhood, just going home," he said.